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Glite Dictionary
to sleek down

to sleek down

5.8
To make hair smooth and shiny by pressing it or using a little gel
  • phrasal verb
  • /sliːk daʊn/
translation icon : alisar
  • He applied hair gel to sleek down the frizz and achieve a polished look.

Examples

  • She used a brush to sleek down her hair before the party.

  • After washing his dog, he sleeked down its fur to make it shiny.

  • It just sleeks it down, but it's also great for edges.

Synonyms

to smooth
vsto sleek down
54 1.1

To make a surface even by rubbing or pressing

adds a glossy finish to hair using pressure or a product
to polish
vsto sleek down
46 1.1

To make something smooth and shiny by rubbing it

is used here to create hair shine using pressure and a product
to slick
vsto sleek down
18 5.0

To make something smooth and shiny by rubbing or adding oil

focuses more on flattening hair and adding shine rather than slipperiness
to gloss
vsto sleek down
1 4.0

To make a surface smooth and shiny by rubbing or polishing

also involves smoothing and flattening hair with pressure or product
to slick down
vsto sleek down
1 5.8

To make a surface such as hair smooth and shiny by using a product or pushing it flat

is the same action focused on hair using pressure or product
to sleek
vsto sleek down
1 4.3

To make something smooth and shiny by brushing or pressing

often involves applying a product more than only brushing
to furbish
vsto sleek down
  • Archaic
1 9.2

To make something shiny by rubbing

is more about flattening hair and producing a shiny surface with product
to smoothen
vsto sleek down
4.3

To make a surface flat and even by rubbing or polishing

describes an active cosmetic action that adds shine with pressure or product

Antonyms

to mess up
  • Informal
52 3.0

To make something untidy, dirty, or not in the right place

frizz
4 5.0

A lot of small, tight curls that make hair look messy

How Smooth

to sleek down
5.8
to flatten
23 2.6

Surface Forms

sleek down infinitive
sleeked down past
sleeked down past participle
sleeking down present participle
sleeks down third person singular

Morphology

sleek + down

The meaning 'to make hair or a surface smooth and glossy' is directly derivable from 'sleek' (to make glossy) combined with 'down' (indicating smoothing/flattening or direction toward a lower/closer position). This verb + particle composition follows common English patterns and would be understood by a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Sleek down comes from the simple act of making hair or fur smooth (sleek) and pressed close (down), like running a comb with water or gel to make stray hairs lie flat. So, it means 'to make a surface smooth and shiny', especially hair or fur.